Athlon pegged Tennessee 56th in its 1 to 130 FBS rankings. Lindy's had the Vols 67th.

"The Volunteers won nine games as recently as 2016, but getting to six victories would be a step in the right direction for new coach Jeremy Pruitt," Athlon's preview on the Vols stated. "The first-year coach inherits a team with major question marks on both sides of the ball, along with one of the SEC's toughest schedules."

UT's schedule includes a home game against Alabama (ranked No. 1 nationally by Athlon), a road game against Georgia (No. 3 nationally by Athlon), a road game against Auburn (No. 7), a home game against Florida (No. 17) and a neutral site game against West Virginia (No. 22).

Athlon pegged Vols offensive lineman Trey Smith as a preseason first-team All-SEC selection and safety Nigel Warrior as a third-team pick. Lindy's also had Smith on its first team and Warrior on its third team, while Chandler was a second-team all-purpose selection.

Street & Smith's had the rosiest outlook for the Vols and projected that they'd make the Music City Bowl.

Jeremy Pruitt questions fan turnout at Vols spring game

Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt wasn’t thrilled by the attendance at the spring game